Sixty-one days. Less than 10 weeks. Just shy of 1,500 hours.

Each of these units of time measurement is the correct answer to the question, “How long before Christmas?”

I for one now know I have that much time to procrastinate, delay or otherwise put off my shopping until I can once again become a last-minute shopper. It’s not something I want to do, it’s just the way it is and the way — for me — it has always been.

But, this year, I know one thing. I don’t have to go anywhere else to round out the items I need on my shopping list. I can get everything I need right here in Selma and Dallas County.

I have worked and lived in small towns and large cities and, in each case, most people believe they have to leave the town they live in to find that special gift. And, for me, I never understood it.

True, I am not a huge shopping fan. I am the type of person who makes a decision on what I want to get and then go to the store or shop where that item can be purchased.

And, as I have matured (trust me, I have), I have also come to understand just how important it is to support the town, city or area you live. How important it is to support the business owners and employees who are your neighbors.

Plus, the more people who support local businesses, also support local schools with the sales taxes collected and support the continued improvement of area roads and infrastructure.

It doesn’t make sense to give some other community — a community I do not live — the sales tax infusion from my purchase when it is the local police departments and fire departments that protect my belongings and me.

It doesn’t make sense to give my tax dollars to provide a better educational environment to their children, when it is the children right here that will have the biggest impact on my life.

I am not naive to say that there is never a need to shop out of town, but I am strong-willed enough to argue that the search for that perfect Christmas present begins here.

The men and women who operate local businesses — both those that are franchise of national chains or locally-owned — employ local residents and support local organizations. So, with that in mind, the very least I can do to say thanks is to start my Christmas shopping with those who call Selma and Dallas County home.